WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee Inc. is deploying Retail Zipline’s platform in an effort to better communicate with its more than 85,000 employees amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the company said Monday.

With Retail Zipline, Hy-Vee employees can access messages from company leaders and supervisors through a desktop website and/or via a mobile application. Either way, they get a centralized view of everything that needs to get done in-store, according to the company, which says the platform lets Hy-Vee directly communicate with employees and track the execution of such priorities as store protocols, health and safety guidelines, best practices and in-store tasks.

“All of our employees play a crucial role in how we are responding to COVID-19, which is why it’s imperative we invest in them and provide them with the necessary resources to do their jobs in the best way possible,” said Jessica Ringena, Hy-Vee’s senior vice president, finance and business strategy. “Retail Zipline allows our corporate team to communicate with every single employee to make sure everyone receives the same message and executes new protocols or receives the latest company news in a timely fashion.”

To commemoration its new partnership with Hy-Vee, Retail Zipline will support Hy-Vee’s current food bank campaign, which aims to raise $1 million for food banks across the Midwestern grocer’s eight-state region by May 31. For every new Hy-Vee platform user that signs up between now and May 31, Retail Zipline will donate $1 to the campaign, up to a total of $25,000, . Hy-Vee will then match Retail Zipline’s contribution.

“Our goal at Retail Zipline is to ease communication challenges for brands so employees in the field are safe and empowered to do their best work, which has never been more critical,” said company founder and CEO Melissa Wong. “We are proud to partner with a company that’s passionate about the wellbeing of its employees as well as its local communities, which is why we’re committed to supporting Hy-Vee’s fundraising initiative to provide food to those in need.”

Hy-Vee is the first grocery retailer to launch Retail Zipline’s platform, according to the companies. More information about Retail Zipline can be found here.